No one's coming for you
by Skovko
Summary: Gretchen is part of The Authority, and she's sure they have her back. The Shield knows better, and they want her to see the truth. Only one way to do that. Kidnap her and keep her locked up to prove that no one's coming for her.
1. Monday

The week had gone by both as expected but also with an unexpected twist. Gretchen had been in their power the entire week. They had to show her the true colours of Stephanie and Hunter. They had to get through to her somehow.

**MONDAY**

"Here is your winner: Gretchen Starr!" JoJo announced.

The referee lifted her arm, but she remained on her knees. It had been a brutal battle between her and Kaitlyn, and she was worn out. Stephanie had sent her out there to prove her worth with the threat that if Gretchen couldn't take down Kaitlyn, there was no room for her on their side.

_"Sierra Hotel India Echo Lima Delta... Shield"_

She snapped her head up towards the stairs as the three men came walking down. It made no sense they were out there. Their business was with Hunter, Randy and Batista. And still it made perfect sense since she was part of that gang too.

She looked towards the ramp, expecting Hunter to bring his Evolution buddies to her rescue any second. Except no one came. She was on her own. She made it to her feet on shaky legs just as the three men jumped the barricade and spread out around the ring. She was in deep trouble. Once again she looked towards the ramp.

"No one's coming," Seth mocked her.

She ran for the fourth side, but they were inside the ring faster than she could get there. Three sets of hands held on to her. She tried fighting, but it was impossible. She was pulled out of the ring, pushed over the barricade, and dragged up the stairs. And not at any point did anybody come to her aid.

It was a silent and awkward car ride where she sat in the back with Roman while Seth was driving, and Dean was in the passenger seat. She was pulled out of the car and forced into their home. She was pushed into a room, and she immediately eyed the window.

"It's bolted shut, and it's bulletproof glass," Roman said.  
"So go ahead and try," Dean smirked.

She moved her eyes from the window and took in the entire room. It looked like a normal bedroom. Double bed, dresser, a small table with a chair, a closet.

"We filled up the closet and dresser. I hope I got your style correct," Seth said.

She spun around and stared at him. Anger filled her dark green eyes and made them look even darker than they were. He took in the dark brown haired woman in front of him. She was beautiful and smart, and he had no idea how someone like her ever ended in the claws of Hunter and Stephanie. She was smarter than that, and she didn't need them.

"You can't keep me here," she said.  
"We can," Roman chuckled. "And we will."  
"Where is your boss now?" Dean asked.  
"They'll come for me," she said.  
"No one's coming for you, and deep inside I think you already know that, or you'll figure it out soon enough," Seth said.

The three men left the room, and she heard the door being locked behind them. She sat down on the bed and yanked her boots off. She took another look around. It wasn't bad. It was actually rather good. She laid down on the bed fully dressed and stared up in the ceiling. Hunter and Stephanie would come for her. She was sure of it. She had made a deal with them. She helped them, and they helped her. So far that deal had been a one way street, but that was because she hadn't needed their help until now.


	2. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

**TUESDAY**

The door unlocked, and Seth entered. She was still on her back on the bed, still dressed in her ring gear.

"Why didn't you change into some sleeping clothes? I bought some for you. It's in here," he walked over to the closet and opened it.

She sat up and stared at the clothes from afar. From what she could see, he had done a great job and getting her style right. Not that it mattered. She was still there by force, and she wasn't gonna be grateful about some stupid clothes.

"Do you wanna take a shower? You can't smell too good after that match last night. Fuck, you and Kaitlyn went at it hard," he said.  
"It this your way to get to see me naked?" She asked.  
"No, I won't be in there with you. We bolted that window shut too, so I'm not worried about you escaping," he answered.  
"Why am I here, Seth?" She asked.  
"To show you the truth about the people you think you can trust. They don't care about you, Gretchen," he said.  
"And you do?" She asked mockingly.  
"I do," he sighed. "I know you don't believe me, but you'll see that I'm right. Now, how about that shower?"

**WEDNESDAY**

She was dressed in a pair of black and dark green camo pants combined with a black tee. She looked good, and Seth knew he had her style down to perfection. He had been watching her long enough to know what she liked to wear.

"Good morning," he said. "How did you sleep?"  
"The fuck do you even care?" She sneered.  
"I care," he sighed. "I'm not the enemy here."  
"Could have fooled me," she said.

He would keep her there for as long as it was needed. Anything to make her see they were only trying to help her. Sitting her down and talking to her wouldn't have helped. As long as Hunter and Stephanie were around, they would convince her they had her back. But now that she actually needed them, they were nowhere to be seen, and she would catch up on reality soon enough.

**THURSDAY**

"Do you wanna come into the living room and watch tv with us?" Seth asked.  
"No," she answered.  
"Are you sure? They're showing Dog Soldiers tonight," he said. "It's about these..."  
"I've seen it," she shut him down. "It ends with them blowing up the house, and the hero walks out of the door which is the only thing left standing."  
"Thanks for the spoilers," he said annoyed.  
"Thanks for keeping me here," she said in the same annoyed tone.

They stared at each other for a few seconds until the silence was broken.

"Seth?" Dean appeared behind him. "The movie's starting."  
"I'm coming," Seth sighed.  
"Gretchen?" Dean asked.  
"She's seen it," Seth answered and closed the door.

**FRIDAY**

"Motherfucker! God damn bitch! Get off me!" Dean shouted.

Roman and Seth stormed into the room. Dean had walked in with breakfast, and not even a minute later they heard him shout like that. They found Gretchen hanging on his back, arms around his throat, legs around his waist, trying to choke him out.

"What the hell?" Roman asked.

Dean threw himself backwards, and her back collided with the hard wall. She let out a sound of pain, let go of him, and crashed to the floor. He put a hand on his sore throat while stumbling away from her. He didn't get far though. She pushed through her pain, and jumped up on him again. Seth moved in, wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her off Dean, and threw her down on the bed.

"Enough!" He barked as he held her down.  
"Let me go!" She screamed. "Wait till I get my fucking hands on you, you fucker!"  
"Is that your great plan? Fight all three of us?" He asked.  
"If no one's coming to get me out, I have to do it myself!" She sneered.  
"Now you're finally getting it!" He yelled. "No one's coming for you!"

It seemed like all her strength went away. He let go of her and moved backwards. She laid on the bed, staring up in the ceiling. She was finally getting it. She was on her own.

"Give her some space," he said lowly.

His brothers followed him out of the room, and left her there to think about everything. Seth was right. No one was coming for her. She had never felt more alone in her life. She always knew Hunter and Stephanie played dirty, and she should have known better than to ever trust them.


	3. Saturday, Sunday, Monday

**SATURDAY**

She hadn't tried to fight any of them since Friday morning. Instead she had become more quiet and withdrawn. Seth didn't like seeing her pull away like that and hide whatever was going on inside her mind. He knew she was hurting.

"Hi," he stood in the doorway.

She looked over at him as if she hadn't heard him open the door and therefore was surprised to see him.

"I already had dinner," she said.  
"I know. I served it," he chuckled.  
"Then why are you in here?" She asked.  
"Roman and Dean went for a run, and I figured you'd might like to talk," he said.  
"No," she said.

He walked into the room and stopped halfway between the door and the bed.

"Come on, Gretchen. I know you're hurting right now, and that a lot of things are going through your mind. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm not the enemy. None of us are. Just talk to me," he said.

She stood up and walked over to him. She stopped right in front of him and studied his chocolate brown eyes. Even if he was trying to hide his true feelings, she could still see them very well.

"I don't wanna talk," she whispered.

She threw her arms around him and kissed him. He kissed her back hungrily and eagerly. She started backing him towards the door, and he knew exactly what she was planning. Just before reaching it, he spun her around, pushed her up against the wall next to the door, and trapped her between him and the wall.

"Why?" He asked.  
"Seth," she purred.  
"Please, don't," he pleaded. "For a second you had me fooled. What was the escape plan? Knee me in the balls as soon as you were within reach of the door?"  
"So what if it was?" She asked.

He sighed deeply while searching her eyes for something. Anything at all to tell him she wanted him too. She looked down, not giving him a window to her soul.

"Fine. If you wanna leave, leave. No one's stopping you," he said.  
"Right," she laughed.  
"Tomorrow at Payback we'll beat Evolution just like we did last month at Extreme Rules. Two losses in a row, and they'll back down out of embarrassment. You can run back to Hunter and Stephanie, but ask yourself first, where does it leave you? They obviously don't care about you," he said.

He took three steps backwards and pointed at the door.

"The door is right there, and you're free to walk out of it," he said. "I'm not gonna stop you."

**SUNDAY**

"God damn it!" Stephanie yelled.

She watched as The Shield stood above her husband's fallen body with their fists together. She didn't hear the door open, and Gretchen enter.

"Stephanie," Gretchen said.

Stephanie spun around fast and looked at Gretchen.

"There you are. I was so worried," she said. "I'm sorry we didn't come find you. We tried, but we don't know where they live, and we had out hands full with planning tonight's match, and we still failed."  
"I'm not angry," Gretchen said.  
"Are you okay though? They didn't cross any lines, did they?" Stephanie asked.  
"I'm okay," Gretchen answered. "I'm actually glad you didn't come for me because I found out something I didn't know. I have a proposition for you that can help you bring them down."  
"I'm all ears," Stephanie said.  
"Turns out that Seth has feelings for me, and we can use that," Gretchen said.

**MONDAY**

"There's always a plan B," Hunter said.

The world stared in shock as Seth let the steel chair punish his brothers Roman and Dean. No one had seen it coming except for very few people. Finally satisfied with his beating, Seth left the ring to stand next to Hunter.

"Good boy," Randy whispered.  
"I didn't do it for you," Seth whispered back.  
"I know," Randy chuckled lowly. "I've seen people do a lot of weird things for love, but selling your brothers out like that, well, that's a first to me."


	4. Endgame

**ENDGAME**

Batista left pretty fast after Seth joined. He threw a bit of a tantrum like a spoiled brat who had been told no to lollypop number 20. He didn't wanna share the spotlight with Seth, so he left, and Seth took his place in Evolution.

Randy was clearly jealous too, but he managed to keep his feelings within in front of Hunter and the world. Whenever Seth was the only one around, the story was a different one. He would make fun of Seth's feelings, telling him he sold out for no reason since Gretchen would never want him.

"And why would she when she can have me? I might ask her out tonight after the show," Randy said that Monday a few weeks later.  
"Don't you dare!" Seth sneered.  
"Or you'll do what?" Randy asked mockingly. "You'll do nothing. Hunter will always choose me over you. If you get yourself thrown out of Evolution, where will you go? Your brothers have made the world know exactly what they're planning on doing to you if they get their hands on you. You need our backup."

The door opened, and Gretchen walked in.

"What's going on in here?" She asked.  
"Nothing," Randy answered. "Would you maybe be interested in grabbing a drink after the show with me?"  
"That sounds like fun, big man," she smiled and looked at Seth. "Seth?"  
"No, he's not coming. Just the two of us," Randy said.  
"Are you asking me out on a date, Randy?" She giggled.  
"Yes, I am," he said.  
"Then maybe I'll say yes," she said. "If you go in there and beat Roman and Dean."  
"Come on, babe, piece of cake. We're three against those two," Randy said.  
"Five if you count me and Stephanie. We're going with you. I want a front row ticket for this one," she said.

Hunter started in the ring with Roman. For the two first minutes it seemed like a normal match, but then things changed fast. Hunter made the tag to Seth, but Hunter never got out of the ring. Just as Seth entered the ring, Dean jumped down from the apron, ran around the ring, and yanked Randy down. Randy's head slammed down on the apron, and he didn't have time to see Seth flying out into him with a suicide dive. He felt it though, and he got slammed back in the barricade and fell to the ground.

"What the hell's going on?" Hunter asked.

He was sent crashing down by a superman punch from Roman.

"Hunter!" Stephanie screamed.

She jumped up from the seat and moved towards the ring. She didn't get far before Gretchen grabbed her. Gretchen did a teardrop suplex on Stephanie over on the commentator table. It was enough to keep her now former boss lying still. She looked up in the ring as Roman's roar filled the entire arena. Hunter was lifted up on Roman's shoulders by Seth and Dean, and then he came crashing down hard thanks to the triple powerbomb. She grabbed a mic, and joined them in the ring.

"Like I told you at Payback, Stephanie," Gretchen leaned over the top rope. "I walked out of the door, but not before making a deal with them."

Dean snickered as he took the mic from her.

"This was always going to happen," he said. "Batista's gone, and he's not coming back. The Shield was always on the same page, and now we have Gretchen too. And we got Randy on camera asking her out. That one has already been e-mailed to his girlfriend, so I'm sure he has more important things to tend to now. Evolution is done. We run this place now."  
"This is our yard now! Believe in The Shield!" Roman yelled.

Seth grabbed the mic out of Dean's hand.

"Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year," he said. "We'll be there every step of the way. We'll be waiting around every corner you turn. We'll be hiding in every locker room you're in. We'll be watching you breathe until your final breath."  
"Why?" Stephanie whimpered.  
"Do you really need to ask why?" Seth looked at Gretchen. "We had to make her see the truth. You were using her. We had to set her free, and we could take over around here at the same time. Like I said, we're gonna be there constantly."  
"We're taking control! We're taking the power!" Dean yelled. "This is our fucking yard!"

They left the ring and walked up the stairs together. No one said a word until they were in their private locker room. Roman and Dean quickly went to the showers, so that Seth and Gretchen could get a moment alone.

"Remember when I said no one was coming for you?" He gently grabbed her head and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "No one was coming because we were already there."

She grabbed his vest and pulled him down for a kiss.

"Does that mean you'll go out with me?" He chuckled.  
"Just don't kidnap me again," she said.  
"No promises," he smirked.


End file.
